Guyana Elections – US Sanctioned Businessman’s Party Looks Set To Be Main Opposition As PPP/C Heads Toward Likely Victory

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Weds. Sept. 3, 2025 – UPDATED: With official results still to be declared from Guyana elections of Sept. 1, 2025, a News Americas tally of the results published by the Guyana Election Commissions for the 10 districts suggest the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) is on track to retain power. But in a stunning twist, a new party founded in June and led by a U.S.-sanctioned Guyanese businessman, has surged into second place, overtaking the long-dominant opposition despite an election marred by low voter turn out.

Voters wait in line to cast ballots at a polling location during the general election in Leonora, West Demerara, Guyana, on Monday, Sept. 1, 2025. Voters in Guyana head to the polls Monday to decide whether to elect a new government that would push for a bigger share of riches from the booming oil production that’s transformed the South American nation into the world’s fastest-growing economy. Photographer: Yancey Haywood/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Guyana Elections Commission, (GECOM), has now released nearly all Statements of Polls (SOPs) and Election Results. The data from the 10 districts analyzed by News Americas, shows the PPP/C holding a commanding lead of 241,825 votes over the 10 districts, positioning Mohamed Irfaan Ali for a second term.

Guyana’s President and presidential candidate for re-election Mohamed Irfaan Ali votes at a polling station during the presidential election in Leonora, Guyana on September 1, 2025. (Photo by KENO GEORGE/AFP via Getty Images)

But the surprise has been the rise of the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), the political movement led by billionaire businessman Azruddin Mohamed, 38, who was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) last year. WIN has captured more than 109, 501 votes in the districts 1-10 — enough to push it ahead of the opposition coalition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), which has 77,602 votes.

Guyana’s presidential candidate Azruddin Mohamed from the WIN party arrives at a polling station during the presidential election in Georgetown on September 1, 2025.(Photo by LEON LEUNG/AFP via Getty Images)

The Alliance For Change, AFC, has tallied 3,740 votes while the new comer Forward Guyana Movement, has 4,567. The Assembly For Liberty and Prosperity brings up the rear with 1,021 votes.

A total of 443,059 voters cast their ballot over the 10 districts with 4,756 ballots reported as spoilt.

For decades, Guyana’s politics have been dominated by a two-party contest between the PPP/C and APNU, rooted in ethnic and historical divides. WIN’s breakthrough as a party of younger, multi-ethnic Guyanese, suggests a historical political realignment, with voters disillusioned by the two main traditional parties who have bounced back and forth over almost 60 years of independence but delivered little in terms of change. The party was able to pull younger, first time voters as well as others who were dismissed as “scrape heads,” with all rallying behind a populist message of economic empowerment in the CARICOM, South American nation whose economic fortunes have shifted with an oil find some five years ago but where some 40 percent of people remain in poverty per World Bank data.

Observers say the development underscores the volatility of Guyana’s young oil-rich democracy.

The Carter Center and the Commonwealth observer missions both praised election day as largely peaceful, though they raised concerns about the bloated voter list, weak campaign finance rules, and the misuse of state resources. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) also urged reforms to level the playing field for smaller parties.

Once confirmed in the final results, WIN’s performance would cement its role as the chief parliamentary counterweight to the government — led by a figure under U.S. sanctions. For many Guyanese, that sets the stage for an uneasy but historic new political landscape.

Meanwhile, APNU has filed a request for the recount of the ballots cast in Sub-District 4 of District 4 from the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU). The Commission says it will conduct the recount on Thursday, September 4, 2025.